June 20, 2014 4:32PM 

# Border Patrol Spending 

By [Chris Edwards](https://www.cato.org/people/chris-edwards) 

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A tragedy is unfolding in Texas as thousands of illegal immigrants are pouring over the southern border. Alex Nowrasteh has examined the immigration statistics [here](https://www.cato.org/blog/unaccompanied-minors-crossing-border-facts).

But in this blog, let’s take a look at the budget situation. The chart below shows that total Border Patrol (BP) spending has more than tripled since 2000, from $1.1 billion to $3.5 billion, according to [this BP website](http://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/BP%20Budget%20History%201990-2013.pdf). That spending is within broader Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spending of about $12 billion a year currently. A breakdown of the CBP budget is on [page 49 here](http://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/FY15BIB.pdf).

![Media Name: border20140620.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/border20140620.jpg?itok=10uHS87N) 

##### Related Tags 

[Department of Homeland Security](https://www.cato.org/department-homeland-security), [Downsizing Government](https://www.cato.org/downsizing-government) 

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